Hide And Seek
by Lyaksandra
Summary: Saving the world requires doing distasteful things, hateful things. When billions of lives are at stake, you must cheat, twist, lie, and do whatever it takes to change the game in your favor. No one can be safe, not even those closest to you.


I will stop it.

I will stop it? What a joke. I don't even know how the hell are we going to get out of here. On the bright side, Ellison might not be trustworthy, but he can carry the tin-miss out of here. Makes me wonder at times if he used to be in football or something. I like football.

The damn building is now surrounded by some guys in grey jumpsuits, armed to the teeth. What the hell is going on? Was this whole thing a setup by the liquid terminator? Damn John, why did you decide that the machine was so important at such a crucial time? No, damn no, it's my own fault. It was right there in front of my eyes, the whole time, and I refused to acknowledge it. Somehow, the inclusion of that Riley girl, as much as it almost made me pop a vein, got me into the illusion that John wasn't going after the machine's metal boney ass. What a wakeup call.

Well, aside from the twenty or so men, the only other thing between us and a car trip straight to freedom are some meters of pavement. One nine mill on me, and possibly Ellison has another. We are dead. At least I will give them all the hell I can with these eighteen rounds.

Ah, the machine, it has to have something on it! I start searching through all the pockets, and what's my surprise when I find the thing anyone would least expect. A chip. What on earth is a damn chip doing in her pockets? You treacherous little piece of tinfoil! In my rage I start shaking the damn thing. It isn't until Ellison forcibly drags me away from it that I stop. That's some image he's gonna get of me. Huffing and growling like a damned wild animal.

Well, we're dead anyway, so after shaking him off me, I decide to just go ahead and reactivate the succubus assassin. Not without giving it a good couple of kicks.

Once again, I find myself staring like an idiot. This thing is just full of surprises. As soon as the chip is secured in place, her eyes light up an intense blue. Not minding that I'm right on her, she stands up like a spring, pushing me back to land my ass on the floor, and starts searching her pockets. The damn egoist was just looking for the chip cover, and once she got it, asked about the situation.

That's a good one my dear tin-miss. The situation is that we're screwed, and by the way, why the hell are you still here? Either I'm speaking chinese or judging by the way she's staring at me, she takes offense to my words. Well damn, Cameron, what did you expect, aren't you the smartest machine on earth right now? This whole bloody mess just keeps getting worse and you seem to be the damn eye of the hurricane right now. So I freaking grab the neck of her jacket and pull her over real close to my face to demand some explanations.

Her look is something I've never seen, and it's damn priceless. The smug arrogance, the anger. What on earth is going on here? When did she get to be so expressive? As she brushes me off, the machine starts explaining her side of this situation.

I want to throw up.

Everything has been a damn ruse. All of it was meant to bring John to this moment, because the only way to win the war now, is to catch Skynet by surprise. The only way to do it is to hide my son in the only place where he can never be found. Time.

Not just that but everything about her was a lie too, some sort of complicated psychosocial crap that was necessary to get John into the required mindset. Summer freaking Glau on a jumping pogo stick, this must be what going mad feels like.

There never was any two minute boot time, at least not for her. Small weapons like the ones the cops used at jail? The word impervious falls off her mouth in a real casual fashion. She says, nothing short of an RPG can stop her, and then jokes about it telling me that what the hell did I think the word terminator was there for. Spookiness? Well, I'm certainly scared right now. Even after she says everything was John's plan in the future, I don't think I will ever get a full night sleep ever again.

After the joke, she laughs. A real laugh, with a real smile, all the way up to her eyes. Now I see why John fell for her. No human girl can hope to compete with her perfect looks, her innocent and giddy laughter, or her little girl smile. Hopefully she learned to smile like this with John and not with Skynet, or the future resistance is gonna be made of only straight women.

Well, now that my head has stopped spinning, I can explain the situation to her. Once I'm done she gives me a friendly look, and promises that now that John is safe, there will be no more lies, I can trust her completely. Now, I don't know what disgusts me the most. The fact that she manipulated everything up to this point, or that the look in her face makes me want to believe what she says. Either way, she is soon walking out the door that leads to the basement parking area.

Describing what happens next as a hailstorm of bullets really falls short. Even so, it doesn't last but a couple minutes, along with a whole lot of agonized screaming that I'd rather not hear. Then she returns carrying what seems every weapon these men were carrying, and with a smile, ushers us out the hallway.

I hope she's right John. I hope to see you again one of these days.


End file.
